


The Sword and the Sweets

by TheFairMaidenofFandom



Series: Marinette and the Batboys™ [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dreams, F/M, no beta we die like jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-01-24 03:58:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21331915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFairMaidenofFandom/pseuds/TheFairMaidenofFandom
Summary: Soulmates have flowers that appear when the other is hurt. They can also meet in dreams. Damian is softer, and Marinette isn't afraid to tell someone off.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: Marinette and the Batboys™ [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1525679
Comments: 163
Kudos: 1781





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely unrelated oneshot to the others, but I had the idea and went for it. This will not be updates as frequently as Fate Goes Both Ways. Hope you like!

Ever since she could remember, Marinette had flowers blooming across her body. As soon as she could talk, she asked her Maman about it. Her mother shared a worried look with her father,before gently explaining what soulmates were and that her special someone had injuries wherever the flowers bloomed. 

Marinette was worried. She began to ask her parents all the questions she could think of.

What kind of injuries gave the flowers? Apparently bruises gave flowers the same color as the original. Cuts had black flowers. As they healed, the flower's color would fade until it disappeared. Scars would leave faint blooms. 

How did soulmates meet? Her Maman and Papa explained that there was a place called the dreamscape. After the younger partner turned five, when they dreamed, they could meet their mate! It was a room filled with anything important to them.

Marinette was very excited on the night of her fifth birthday. Her parents had warned her that she might not be the younger mate, but she just knew it. Tonight she would meet her soulmate.

She drifted off, and woke again in a white room. As she looked around, her excitement grew. This was her dreamscape! She saw her new toy sewing machine, and the bakery oven. Then she noticed some things that she had never seen. She saw swords, and grappling hooks, and a boy with dark hair and green eyes. 

She ran over to him and gave him a hug. She couldn't believe it! He was wearing an all black outfit. When she pulled off of him, she started talking a mile a minute. "Hi! My name's Marinette! What's yours? I like pink and cookies from Papa! My favorite kind is chocolate chip. What's your favorite cookie?"

He sees shocked that she was talking to him.

"I'm Damian. I don't have a favorite color. And, what's a cookie?"

She gaped at him. "You don't know?"

Then, she seemed to make up her mind about something and grabbed his arm and begin dragging him over to the kitchen. He was about to flip her, but stopped himself just in time. 

"Please do not surprise me like that. I almost hurt you!"

She dropped his arm. "Sorry! Nino says I can get bossy. He's my best friend. I want to make you cookies! Papa and Maman just showed me how!"

He shrugged. "What do they taste like?"

"Cookies are the best! You have tried chocolate, right?"

"Mother gave me some once. I quite liked it."

"I don't know how to explain how they are. But we can make some!"

"Sure."

Marinette started pulling ingredients out of the cabinets. Damian helped her pull the chair from her sewing desk over to the fridge. They messed up one batch, but the second one came out well. The shapes were messy, but they tasted fine.

Damian gave a small smile to her. The rest of the time in the dreamscape, Marinette told him her likes and dislikes, and tried to get Damian to open up a little. It worked a bit, but she wanted to know everything! 

He eventually told her that he knew how to fight well, but that was all she could get about the weapons spread around the room and her flowers. 

As they felt themselves waking up, they smiled and waved at each other. And then they faded away.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set up to the beginning of Son of Batman. Damian will not be making most of the impulsive moved he made in the movie, because not only did he have Mari's influence all these years, but he also talks to her everytime he sleeps. So yeah, less impulsive Damian. The timeline is going to mostly be from Mari's POV, but I will have some written through Damian's eyes.

The next time they met, Damian wanted to teach her something. So, he began teaching her Arabic and English. She had wanted to learn English first, but then realized she could both at the same time.

The third night, she taught him how to make brownies.

The fourth, he taught her basic stretches.

And so it went for almost a year.

She was almost fluent in Arabic and English, and knew how to fight decently. The child assassin could bake just as well as she could. He could also sew a bit, but Damian had never gotten halfway as good at that as she was.

Of course, they had decided that neither of them would tell anyone about each other. Damian, to ensure her safety, and Marinette because 1) He asked her, and 2) It was fun to have a secret from everyone.

And so, it went on.

Marinette was excited. It was her first day of Ecole! Damian had wished her luck the night before, and she just knew it would go well.

She was a bit nervous about meeting everyone, but she knew how to handle herself.

Chloé was mean to everyone, but Marinette wasn't worried about her. After last year's threatening, she knew she wouldn't be bothered. Mari had looked at her in the exact same way Damian taught her, and then told her off in four languages. (The girl had peed her pants and hadn't spoken to Marinette since. Damian had gotten an extra big hug that night.)

She had already met Nino. He was nice, but too quiet. She decided he needed some macarons on the first day, and they had been friends ever since.

When Marinette walked into the classroom, Chloé went silent, and Nino had smiled and waved at her.

She returned the gesture, and then saw a little boy with black and blonde hair heading over to him with the same look on his face that Chloé used to. Nino would need help.

So she ran over to the boy and gave him a big fake smile and announced, "I'm Marinette! Who're you?"

"I'm Kim. Move please. I want to talk to four-eyes."

Kim felt a shiver when he saw the look on her face. She was giving him the scariest look ever! Then, her face changed right back to the big smile! She said, "I want a hug!"

And as she pulled him in, she squeezed really hard, and whispered, "If you say anything, even a little bit mean, I'll break your arm. Leave him alone."

When he pulled away, the teacher had come back from the door and smiled at them. He raised his hand slowly. "Madam Teacher? Can I go to the bathroom?"

"Sure thing Kim! Just take someone with you. How about Nino?"

He got even paler as he saw the boy give him a friendly smile.

If he was Marinette's friend, he had to be scary too.

He ran out to the bathroom.

"Oh dear! I guess he really had to potty. Nino? Can you catch up to him?"

"Sure, Madame Bustier!"

Nino had no idea why Kim’s face looked grey-ish whenever he looked at him, but he didn’t like it. He kept trying to be his friend, but Kim obviously didn’t want to be. So they walked on quietly.

When they got back, he saw Marinette smiling at Kim, and Kim had gone white. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“Damian, you were so right! That was really funny. He was white as a ghost!”

Marinette was laughing so hard that she fell off the couch. They had recently discovered that if they really, really wanted something, they could get it to come to them. So, they had decorated the whole room.

Marinette had turned her sewing machine pink, and her desk, chair, and her blanket were all the same color.

She had finally gotten Damian to decide on his favorite color, and it was red.

So he had a red blanket, and all his things were red. The walls were pink and red, which normally wouldn’t go together, but for them, it looked perfect.

Tonight they were just hanging out. Marinette had told him all about her day. She told him everything, and he laughed when she got to the part about Kim. Damian was her best friend. She loved his nickname for her, Angel, and even though he wouldn’t admit it, she knew he liked it when she called him Birdy.

When he asked her why she called him that, she told him that he reminded her of a bird. He had a permanent mean face, but he was actually really nice. And he was tiny.

He threw a cookie at her.

She just gave him a smug grin and told him that he was her best friend. His cheeks colored ever-so-slightly.

As they grew older, and he noticed how some of the members seemed to believe less in the League than the used to, he was happy to have something that could not be taken from him. His mother wasn’t even aware that he had a soulmate. He knew that if she found out, she would either kill them, or induct them into the league, so he kept it a secret. Marinette would never be able to kill. He trained her so that she could if she needed to, but he knew she couldn’t handle it. She would feel guilty.

He couldn’t tell her much about the details, she simply knew that he could fight well. He told her the little things that no one else knew. How he loved animals, his favorite color, how he liked his tea. 

She told him everything about herself. He thought it wasn’t fair that he could know everything, but she couldn’t know the details of his daily life, and he told her as much. She answered with, “I know that you share as much as you can, and that’s fine.”

They both had very mature spirits. He was more jaded, but while she knew plenty about the world, she still trusted openly. It was… nice.

She taught him games, and how to have fun. She made him smile. She was creative, and very smart. He liked that about her.

One day, when he was about ten, he came into the dreamscape practically shaking with suppressed rage.

Marinette immediately rushed over and gave him a hug. "Birdy, what's wrong?"

"My grandfather is dead, and now Mother wishes to take me to meet my father."

"I'm sorry Dami."

"It will be fine, I'm just not sure why I don't want to go yet."

"Does your stomach feel tight? Like something's twisting it up?"

"How'd you know that?"

"That's just nerves Birdy. You'll be fine. I like you, and he'll love you!"

He gave her a small smile and blushed. "What happened with your day?"

"So Nino and I were on the playground right….."

They talked for a while until Damian felt his body being woken.

"That must be Mother."

"Bye Damian! I'll see you tomorrow! It'll be great, you'll see."


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian's coping mechanism is not what Dick would have expected.
> 
> So, I was responding to a comment, and I realized that that was a lot of the story's background info. So here it is.
> 
> The idea of the dreamscape, is you can keep up a mask, but it's HARD. Like you have to genuinely want to hide from the person, and even then, it takes alot of willpower. So Damian decided to just be himself. He doesn't have the same superiority complex as he does in Canon. It's a mask, and not who he is. He doesn't know Bruce or the boys, but he is starting to trust Dick. Jason is not around much in this, and Tim is busy, as would be the Co-CEO of one of the most important corporations in the world. So, it's mostly Bruce and Dick that surround him. Alfred is supporting from the shadows.

Damian was immediately mobbed by Marinette as he materializes.

"Birdy! How did it go? I was worried all day!"

"Father thinks I'm too unruly." He scowled.

He didn't even kill! He had been less violent as he got to know Mari more. He just was going to knock him out! And then stupid Grayson had to tell Father that he "tried to kill" Ubu!

He'd show Father that he wasn't that bad. "Mari? Can we please just make cookies? The chocolate ones with sprinkles?"

Mari noticed his mood and knew he just wanted a distraction. "Sure! But I'm adding the sprinkles today!"

"Fine. I get to lick the spoon though."

"Damiiii!"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

He had woken early, and probably should have gone back to sleep, but Damian wanted more cookies. 

I can just make some…

He snuck down the stairs and into the kitchen. He and Mari usually took a while to clean up, but if he didn't want to get caught, he'd have to put it away as he went.

He whipped out the dough, and as he put them in, he started washing the dishes. It was almost four! Pennyworth would probably start waking soon.

He hurried to put the last of the dishes away, and grabbed the cookies out of the oven. He barely had time to clean the pan, before he was rushing upstairs with the plate in hand.

Mari would've been so happy to see him making them on his own. Her desserts had been getting more elaborate, and he could still barely make a cake. He just didn't know how she got the so perfect! Her icing was always even, and she even decorated with flowers and swirls. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Alfred was going to head down to the cave to make sure Master Tim had gotten sleep, but he thought first to check the kitchen.

As he flicked on the lights, he realized the oven was still warm, and there was water in the sink. What on Earth? Neither Master Bruce or his sons baked anything. Master Dick couldn't even make a cookie.

He decided to go check the security footage.

As he watched the feed from right before he woke, a soft smile grew on his face. Master Bruce would have an easier time with this one than he thought. He shut off the computers and headed back upstairs.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Bruce was surprised. He had thought that Damian would try to sneak outside to patrol, but instead he was asleep? The system had warned him about an hour ago that Damian was not in his room, so he had gone outside to make sure he wouldn't get out, but when he had gone back to the cave, he found that Damian was supposedly in his room. He went to check up on him and was shocked.

Damian looked so normal, curled up under his bedcovers, except, was that a plate? He picked it up and noticed that there were a few crumbs on it.

He took it down to analyze the crumbs, and..it was cookies? Where did Damian even get cookies?

He was too tired for this.

Bruce went back to his room to catch a few more hours before he had a meeting.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It had been about two years since Damian had joined the family. 

Dick had gone down to the kitchen for a glass of water, when he heard, humming?

He grabbed a knife from the living room, and slipped into the kitchen.

As he went to strike down the intruder, the interloper spun around, already in a defensive stance. Damian!?!

"Grayson?! What are you doing down here?"

"Me? What are you doing? You were humming!"

Damian pointed to the counter. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Are those.. cookies?"

"Clearly. Were you going to stab me?!"

"Well yeah, no one in this house hums.."

"If you tell anyone about this, you'll regret it."

"Wait..why should I?"

"You do know I'm an assassin?"

"Yeah, but you're an assassin that I just caught humming and making cookies. Speaking of, I want one."

Damian tried to bring the plate out of his reach, but Dick was taller than him.

"Wow Little D! These are good! Can I have more?"

"Will anyone else be hearing about this?"

"Not if I get these cookies they won't."

"Fine. I'll leave some in your room after I make them."

"Wait, do you do this every night?"

"Yes, it is habit."

"From where? I'm pretty sure the League of Assassins don't teach baking."

"That's for me to know, and you never to find out. Goodnight Grayson."

He left Dick standing in the kitchen staring after him. Did Damian just tell him goodnight? Did he get hit by a chemical or something? He hadn't left the mansion yet, but it was possible. He headed down to the cave to look over the cameras.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It looked like Baby Bird had been doing this every night for the last few years, just as he said. He looked so happy when he was baking. Maybe it was a stress thing? Whatever. He'd leave it alone for now, but if it got too weird he would ask him about it.

Damian fell back asleep, but he didn't make it into the dreamscape. Marinette was probably already in class by now. When he woke up, he took a shower, and went down to the cave.

"Grayson?"

"How should I go about thanking someone?"

"Who? You haven't exactly tried to make friends since you got here. "

"Just someone. I need to thank them for some advice they gave me."

"Um, what do they like to do?"

"Sewing and baking."

"Oh.. Little D, is this a soulmate thing?"

"No! I don't have a soulmate!"

Dick scrutinized Jim for a moment. "What's her name? Most people have one. Mine is on the Teen Titans. Starfire?"

"Why should I trust you with this? I didn't even tell Mother."

"Wait really?"

"Yes. It was for her safety as well as my own. Mother would have either killed her, or recruited her."

"That's awful. Bruce is nothing like that, I promise you. He has one too. Catwoman."

"Fine. Her name is... Marinette."

"Ooh. Is she nice?"

"She is wonderful. She makes me feel..human. She lives pink, and we trust each other with things that no one else knows. She knows almost everything about me. The only thing she doesn't know is my full name and about Robin."

Dick gaped at him. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Damian scowled. "Obviously. Do you have an idea or not?"

"Um.. she would probably like something you make more than anything else. Kor'i is the same way. She likes baking right?" A nod. "So then bake her something. What do you know how to make?"

"Cookies, most all kinds - including macarons, cakes, and chocolate croissants."

"What's her favorite dessert?"

"She mentioned something about strawberry macarons a while back."

"Practice in the kitchen, and then make it for her in the dreamscape."

Damian had a surprised look in his face. "That's..actually good advice Grayson. Thank you."

"No problem Baby Bird! I get to try some anyway, so I'm not complaining."

"Fine."

He headed upstairs to his room. He had a new idea as well.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally sort it out. Setting it up for MLB timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm a jerk for not updating, but I may or may not have forgotten about this story while writing FGBW, and I'm working on Daminette December. BUT, I'm now on break, so I can probably grind out a few more updates for each. Also, if you guys have anything you want me to work into the story, I'm all ears. I need ideas!

While Damian was going to be taking Grayson's advice, he would NOT be caught baking by anyone else.

So, he had Grayson distract the others while he worked on the cookies. 

He had been lucky to remember her specific recipe, because she had been very firm in the fact that none could be as good as her family's.  
So, he spent four hours in the kitchen working on the cookies, while Dick kept Alfred and the others away. (Alfred knows, because Alfred knows all.)

He ended up giving all of them to Dick, who gave him a tight hug and raced upstairs with the plate. Damian decided to fall asleep early to see if he could make them before she got there.

\-------------------------------

When Marinette popped into the dreamscape, she saw Damian taking the macarons out of the oven, and bolted over to him for a hug.

He almost stumbled backwards as she was launched onto him, and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Damian! I missed you!”

He laughed. “Habibiti, it’s only been one day.”

She was about to give a snarky response when the nickname registered. Habibiti? Didn’t that mean beloved? Marinette looked up at him with her lips in an ‘o’ and a slight blush. “Habibiti?”

Damian’s face went red. Time to deflect. “Anyway, I made these for you. To thank you.”

She noticed what he was doing, but decided to ignore it for the time being. Maybe she could call him some of the things she did in her head. “What for, mon petit chou?”

“For stress baking, although I hate that name. One of my brothers found out, but he’s keeping quiet for now.” 

She grabbed one off the tray, and bit into it. “Birdy, these are amazing! How did you do these so well? No offense, but you were not this good before.”

The conversation continues as they walked over to the sparring mats, and she began to fill him in on her first day of school after summer. As she dodged a kick, she told him about a new friend named Alya, and his brain stopped working as his body moved on autopilot Did she call him her sweet bun a few minutes ago? And he didn’t notice? Was he blushing now? How is she doing that?

If she can do it to me, maybe I can do it to her. 

He tuned back in. Apparently some new kid put gum in that Nino kid’s chair, and she put him in his place until he apologized. Good.

“..he gave me his umbrella, which was sweet, I guess.”

“I’m sure it was Angel.”

She opened her mouth to retort, but turned red as a ladybug (Get it?) and snapped her jaw shut. She went still.

“What?”

“I said I’m sure it was, Angel.” He said the last word with a smirk and moved in for a quick jab.

Marinette finally realized what he was doing, and glared at him as she dodged the strike. He merely gave her an innocent smile, and tried to continue the match. “And then what happened?” How dare he? She taught him that smile! He couldn’t use it on her! 

“Damian!”

“What?”

“You can’t just call me Angel, or Beloved, and act like you’re all innocent!”

He crossed his arms and gave a mock glare. “And you can’t just call me your sweet bun! I am not sweet!”

Her expression slowly morphed into something teasing. “You are sweet.”

“I most certainly am not!”

“Then what do you call spending four hours today trying to make me my favorite treats? And bribing your brother to go along with it?”

“A thank you!”

Fine, he wanted to be stubborn? Time to test her theory. She leaned over to him and kissed his cheek.

His whole body turned a slight pink, and his eyes glazed over as he put a hand to his cheek. She mentally pumped her fist. Yes! He liked her too!

Hold up. Was he even breathing? Could you even die of strangulation in the dreamscape? Would he just wake up? Merde, he was turning purple!

She thumped him on the back, and he coughed twice to get air back in his lungs. “What-what was that for?”

“To test a theory. Damian, do you have a crush on me?”

What?!

“No! Anyway, what happened after school?” For a moment she considered telling him about Tikki and the akuma thing, but decided to keep the secret a secret for now, even as guilt flooded her. But then she remembered how he couldn’t tell her some things. That made the guilt recede. Right, she wanted to finally tell him!

“Shame, because I do.”

He almost tripped over his feet. She had a what on him?!

“What?” He croaked out.

She walked over to him and crossed her arms, somehow controlling her blush. What was she doing?! "I said, I have a crush on you."

Damian was blue-screening. Was she flirting with him? For how long?

Was this flirting? Marinette had been trying to teach him more 'normal' things, but she had never covered flirting. Mother certainly didn't do it like this, but then again Marinette wasn't an assassin, wait! She was talking again!

"...and I understand completely that you might not like me like that, but I was just telling you, and-" She stopped and put her head in her hands, peeking up at him with one eye.

Answer her!

"I do care for you, 'like that', Marinette. What does this mean?"

She squealed. "You do? Then maybe we're romantic soulmates! I was hoping for so long, and now I was right!"

He stepped over and gave her a hug. A somewhat stiff hug, but a hug nonetheless. "Maybe it would be prudent if we traded cell phone numbers? That way we can talk throughout the day, and not just here."

"How did I not think of that?! Also, you're getting much better at hugs, Damian!"

He stepped back and she grabbed her sketchbook and tore out a piece. "You write yours, and I'll write mine. We can memorize them."

"Good thinking."

They did so, and she had a beatific smile the next day. Chloé shivered when she saw it.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Marinette start a friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to show a close Ninette friendship, to the point where they're basically siblings. I wanted a bit more detached Marinette for this fic, so when Lila comes, it'll be easier for her.

Marinette was hardly ever off her phone. Everyone noticed, except Ms. Bustier. Tikki already knew the basics of her bond, and understood what was going on.

Birdy: Good morning Habibi.

Angel: Gm Ya Amar! what are u doing? and what time is it where u are?

Birdy: I'm making those cookies again for Grayson. And it is 2am here.

Angel: Birdy! go to sleep. he can have his sweets later!

Birdy: No one is in the kitchen right now, so I have to do it.

Angel: fine. i love txting u, but id rather you get sleep

Birdy: Isn't it schooltime in Paris?

Angel: u trained me. u kno what i can get away with.

Birdy: Fair point. Also, why do you type like that?

Angel: what? i type like a normal person, and you type like a grandmére.

Birdy: You must not have covered that.

Angel: class is so boring! i already kno all this.

Birdy: Your grammar is irritating.

Angel: Fine. Is this better?

Birdy: Yes, yes it is.

Angel: You nerd.

The conversation continued like that for awhile, until Alya, curious, looks over her shoulder to read her texts.

Stupid move.

As soon as Alya's neck turns to face the screen, the phone locks, and Marinette gives her a frigid glare.

"What are you doing?"

"It's fine girl! I was just trying to see what was so interesting."

"It is not fine, and as it is my phone, and my conversation, I would prefer you stay out of it."

"Jeez, whatever. I thought you were nice."

Ms. Bustier hears talking, and turns to face them. "Is everything okay girls?"

The darker-skinned girl almost gets whiplash from the sudden change in demeanor. The girl in pink swaps from a calm rage to a blindingly bright smile in a microsecond. "Of course Ms. Bustier! Me and Alya were just going over some notes."

"Alright Marinette, but you two keep it down."

As soon as the teacher turns back around, Marinette's face changes to a more calm expression. "Please do not look through my things again."

Alya was about to retort, when she spots Chloé making frantic hand gestures at her. "Okay.."

Chloé's whole frame relaxes at the acquiesce, but suddenly tenses up. When the ombre-haired girl follows her gaze, she sees Marinette giving the girl a sweet smile, and then turning back to her phone.

That's odd..

Everyone told her that Chloé was the class bully, but she seemed to be almost.. afraid of Marinette. What was going on there?

She wrote out some theories on her paper. When the bell rings, she decides to follow the baker's daughter. Luckily for her, the girl seemed occupied with her phone.

Alya trailed her into the locker room. Marinette seemed to be digging for something, but it sure was taking awhile. The rest of the class had already passed through, Juleka being the last one.

As the dark-haired girl walked out, Marinette spun on her heel and gave a smile. "Alya, please don't try to sneak up on me. What if I was doing something private?"

She stepped out from behind the row of lockers. "How did you even know that I was there? I was extra quiet and everything!"

Marinette turned and made an inquiring look. "Maybe you just thought you were? Cause I could hear you.."

Alya wasn't convinced, but decided to let it go. "Maybe."

Marinette beamed at her and grabbed her backpack. "What are you doing right now? You should come to my parent's bakery for a treat! They're really good."

The tension finally seeped out of her shoulders. "That sounds great, Marinette."

The smaller girl threw an arm around her waist as they started to walk down the steps and to her house. "I think we'll be good friends Alya."

"Yeah! So, what do you guys have? Wait, is the bakery Tom and Sabine's?"

"Yup! That's us. We have just about everything, so what do you wanna try?"

"Hmm… I tried the pain au chocolat with my parents when we first went in last week, but I'm not sure."

"Ohh. I think I remember seeing you guys! Your m was the one in the chef outfit?"

"Yeah! She just got a job at the Grand Paris."

Marinette was about to give a polite answer, but saw Nink waving her over. He was talking to Umbrella Boy. "Hey Mari!"

Her smile softened. "Hey Nino! What's up?"

"I got Adrien's driver to let him hang out with me for a few more hours. Are you guys heading to the bakery?"

"Yeah. You two wanna come with?"

"Dude, you know I will literally always say yes. Adrien, you good with that?"

"Sure man." 

As they started walking, Marinette grabbed Nino's cap and put it on her head. (Honestly, I can see it in my head, and remember when she put on the beige hat in Bakerix? Like that.) Adrien seemed mildly surprised at Nino's almost non-existent reaction. "Dude, my hair."

"Nope! I'm wearing it now. You have at least three that you left around my house last time."

"Mariii."

"Nope!" She dashed into the bakery, and Nino took that moment to answer the other two's unspoken questions.

"Me and Mari have been bro's since forever." His face softened, as if reliving a memory, and then he snickered. "I'm pretty sure Chloé hasn't said anything mean in front of Mari since that day."

Adrien decided to ask. "What happened?"

"I don't know what Mari said to her, but she was mean to me one day, and then Marinette talked to her in the playground, and she never said another mean thing to me since. I'm pretty sure she warned Kim off me too."

"Whoa. When she told me off in class, I thought that was a one time thing.."

"Nope! She absolutely hates liars and bullies." Marinette suddenly poked her head out of the door and waved them inside. Her mother came over to greet them.

"It's lovely to meet some new friends of Marinette. Nino, you can just grab your regular."

"Thanks Mama Cheng!" He walked over to the display case and grabbed a few macarons and a croissant.

Adrien stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Cheng. I'm Adrien."

"Please Adrien, call me Sabine. That goes for you too, young lady."

"Oh! I'm Alya Césaire. Nice to meet you Sabine."

"You as well. Go ahead and pick out anything you like, free of charge. Let me go grab Marinette from the back. She's probably talking with her father."

Adrien tried to protest, but finally gave up. The two new kids shrugged at each other and walked over to the case. Adrien lifted out a croissant, while Alya grabbed a miniature fruit tart.

"Come on guys! Nino's already upstairs! I'm just gonna grab a few macarons."

They watched as she grabbed a plate and piled on at least six of the cookies and then followed her up the stairs to her room

They walked up in a comfortable silence, until Adrien spoke. "Marinette, your parents are super nice!"

"Yeah, they're the best." She opened the trapdoor, only to find Nino in her desk chair with a new hat.

"Hey dudes!"

They moved around a bit, until Marinette was on her chaise, Adrien was at her desk, and the other two were sitting on the carpet between.

"Marinette, your room is awesome! Do you sew?"

She hummed a response as she took a picture of her snack to send to Damian.

Angel: These r almost as good as urs Birdy

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing important. Um yeah, I actually make all my clothes."

"Wow girl, really? That's so cool!" 

"It's fun, I guess. Honestly, I just couldn't find any clothes that I liked, so I made my own."

Her phone dinged, and she snickered under her breath.

Birdy: My macarons were superior.

Angel: Just by a tiny bit, Mon Chou.

"Hey Nino, can I see your croissant?"

"Sure Dudette."

She snapped a pic, and then sent it over.

Angel: i still have to show u how to make these right.

Birdy: Mine were fine.

Angel: were they?

Birdy: Haha. I have to go. Father wants me.

Angel: Bye Birdy!

Birdy: Bye Ya Amar.

She put her phone down only to see Nino talking to the other two.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Just the homework."

They began a light conversation that continued until Adrien's phone went off.

"Oh. Sorry guys, my driver is downstairs. Thanks for the croissant Marinette! Bye guys."

"Bye Dude!"

"Bye Adrien."

"Bye Adrien!" Alya checked her phone.

"Actually, it's getting kind of late. I should probably head home too."

"Bye Alya."

"Bye Alya. See you tomorrow!"

"You too Girl."

As she shut the trapdoor, Nino finally asked his question. "So who have you been texting?"

"You know that friend I made online?" That was their official cover-up.

"Yeah."

"We swapped numbers."

"Nice."

"Wanna play UMS?"

"You always win."

"Yeah, but I wanna see how fast I can do it this time."

"You jerk. I would, I swear, but I gotta head home in a few minutes. I promised Mom I would help out with Chris tonight."

They talked until he left, and after talking to Tikki, she went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I was thinking about the bond, and I realized that there were some holes. So, for plot convenience, I'm gonna say that the soulmates cannot meet until they're meant to, so yeah..


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce finds out.

Damian was.. happy. He had finally begun to text more with Marinette, and it was nice to be able to talk with her for more than once a day.

The only problem with this was that his family was starting to notice how much time he spent in his room.

Todd had only raised an eyebrow when he asked to skip patrol, but Father and Drake had looked.. worried? Yes that was the word. Thank the heavens that Grayson already had an idea of what was happening, or Damian was sure that he would have gotten the Grayson Worried Look™. And while Father had tried to see if he was sick, or had a concussion, Grayson smirked at him. So, he wasn't getting any cookies that night.

Another problem that had arisen was his smile. He was almost always smiling from something Marinette had sent him, no matter how small, and sooner or later, someone would see. It was getting harder and harder to smother it.

Which is how this happened.

Todd had noticed him smiling down at his phone as he walked back toward his room from dinner, and had looked over his shoulder. And had seen the contact name. Now the whole family was staring at him with raised brows, except Grayson, who was again wearing that infuriating smirk.

"Damian?"

He gritted his teeth. "Yes Father?"

He didn't bother to ask, just gave him a look telling him to explain.

Grayson may have said his father was okay with the idea of soulmates, he had no intention of telling him the truth. So he gave him the cover story.

"She is someone I met online." He grabbed his phone from Todd, and gave him a look that promised pain.

Dick walked in front of him before he could leave, and mouthed 'online' at the boy.

Damian gave him a pleading look that he had gotten from Marinette. Please let it go.

He made it almost to the stairwell, when Todd decided to butt in, once again. Of course it was Todd. “Hey Demon Spawn, where online?”

Crap. “A forum.”

“What forum?”

“It’s about fighting techniques. I wished to improve my skill.”

And now Drake was joining in. “Can I have the link? I want to see it.”

He barely held back the knife he wanted so badly to throw at Todd for starting this. “I’ll send it in a bit. Good night.”

Bruce’s shoulders slumped and he walked after the boy. He caught up to him outside of his door, and grabbed his shoulder gently. “Damian, does this have anything to do with the baking at night?”

Damian narrowly held in a flinch, but he still paled minutely. “What baking?”

“Damian, I am one of the world’s best detectives. I know what is going on in my house.”

“Fine, yes it does. Can I go now?”

“Who is she?”

“Fine, you want to know? She’s my soulmate! There.” He yanked his shoulder out of his father’s grip and slammed the bedroom door.

Oh no.

Birdy: Angel, I may have made a mistake.

She somehow texted him back instantly. 

Angel: You, made a mistake? Impossible. But seriously, what happened? Are you okay?

Birdy: One of my stupid brothers saw your contact name, and took my phone. And I told my father you were my soulmate.

Angel: Well, it was with your mother that you wanted it hidden carefully, right? Is it dangerous or something?

Birdy: Not exactly. Can we go into the dreamscape?

Angel: Sure thing Ya Amar.

She put her phone down and let herself drift back off to sleep. An ocean away, Damian did the same.

They materialized in front of each other, and Marinette immediately enveloped him in a hug. “What’s wrong Birdy? Why is it so bad?”

“It’s not inherently bad, I just liked having something of my own. While I was with my mother, nothing I had was ever private, and it would be dangerous for her to know you exist. I have much more privacy now with my father, but I still like having this for just us. Do you understand?”

“Yeah I do. But what do you mean dangerous?”

He grimaced. Should he tell her? Maybe just edit the truth? “My mother and grandfather were the leaders of an extensive organization. It dealt with quite a bit of fighting and things, and as such I learned to fight very early..”

She didn’t seem repelled at all, simply looked to the sparring mat and nodded ever-so-slightly. He continued. “After Grandfather died, she brought me to my father. She never let him know I existed, and when I arrived, he already had three adoptive children. As I’m sure you can imagine, I am not the most social child, and it was.. difficult for me to adapt my ways and thinking. It started as a habit to hide you from them, but it became nice, to have something of my own.”

“Oh. And when they found out, you thought it was being taken away from you?”

“Yes.”

She squeezed him a bit tighter. “Oh Damian, I’m always going to be here for you. You don’t have to worry about that. Do they all know?”

“Only Father and the eldest. He is the most tolerable of the three.”

They continued the hug for a few more minutes as Marinette processed the new information. She had known that his life with his mother wasn’t the best, but it seemed to run deeper than she had thought. “You know what you need?”

He gave an inquiring look. “What?”

“Croissants and a good spar.”

He grinned at her. “You read my mind.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author wants to know what happens next (in their own head!!), and moves the entire story forward in one chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry in advance. As stated in the summary, I moved the entire story forward in one chapter. Idk, I guess I felt like I dragged some parts of FGBW out too long, so I'm making this one fairly fast-paced.

It had been another year, and now Marinette was fourteen, and mostly alone. Thanks to Lila, the only people she had left were her parents and Damian. So when she came into their private space, she was rather excited about the news. “I have a class exchange coming up soon! It should be fun, and maybe I can meet some new friends.” Ever since Lila had come to the class, her friends had started to hang out with her less and less, until they were no longer apart of each other's lives. They weren't directly cruel, and seemed to not believe everything Lila said about her, especially Nino, but were still wary.

“If anyone can make friends, it’d be you, Angel.”

Either way Marinette was happy to be out of her school for a while. It’d be nice to be out of Paris. 

Her flowers had started turning green, the color of Damian’s eyes, so she knew she’d be meeting him soon. Maybe during the trip?

She opened her mouth to tell him, and then snapped it shut. She could finally surprise him!

This would be good.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Now she was on a plane to Gotham City, New Jersey, and was probably on her way to meet her soulmate. She bounced around her seat.

“What are you doing Marinette?” Tikki was curious. When her holder had gotten the news of the trip, she had barely stopped smiling. The kwami had originally thought it was because she’d be getting out of Paris, but maybe it was something else.

Marinette pulled her sleeve up. “Look Tikki! My flowers are turning green! Damian’s eyes are green! I might meet him on the trip!”

“I’m so happy for you!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marinette headed to her room as soon as Ms. Bustier handed her the key. She’d be the only one without a roommate, but it didn’t really matter. Her luggage was quickly unpacked, and with a quick stop by her teacher’s room, the budding designer headed to the park she saw on the way in. During her walk, she noticed a coffee shop that looked promising.

Coffee!

The boy in front of her ordered a tea with lemon and two sugars, while his older companion asked politely for a frappuchino.

As he got his drink, the dark-haired male turned around.

He dropped his tea.

“Ya Amar?” It was barely above a whisper.

“Angel? Your exchange was to Gotham?”

“Yeah..” She jumped at him in a tight hug.

“Um, Baby Bird?”

She jumped, and Damian scowled.

“What is it, Grayson?”

Dick held his hand out to Marinette. “You must be the girl that got Damian to bake for me? I’m Dick Grayson, his favorite brother.”

She grinned, but raised an eyebrow at Damian. “You must be the oldest brother then? I thought your name was Grayson. Marinette.”

“I’ll reorder the drinks. What were you going to get?”

“Black coffee, two sugars.”

As they sat down at a table, Marinette snickered at her soulmate’s disgruntled look. “You call your brother by his last name? I’m assuming that Todd and Drake are both last names as well?”

He grumbled. “Yes, Jason Todd and Timothy Drake.”

She was about to give a retort, but remembered why she was even sitting down. “I can’t believe you live in Gotham! And we met in a coffee shop! That’s so cliche romance.”

“The fact that I live in the most crime-ridden city in the world? Or the coffee shop?”

She whacked his arm. “Of course the coffee shop Dami.”

He gave a small grin, leaning forward. “Are you sure? Ivy’s plants can be rather romantic.”

“Shut up Birdy. You know what I meant.”

“But-” “I got the drinks!”

“Thanks!” Damian took a sip of his, but a look from Marinette had him giving a grudging thank-you.

“Ooh Jason is going to love you. So tell me Marinette, what brings someone as sweet as you to Gotham?”

“I’m here on a class trip. I was going to head to the park around the corner to do some sketching, but this is much better.”

At this, Dick finally frowned, while Damian looked irritated.

“I didn’t even notice. How did that incompetent woman just let you go without any form of supervision?”

“Your teacher let you go out alone? In Gotham?”

“Ms. Bustier doesn’t care what I do. As long as I ‘set a good example’.” She ended the statement quite bitterly.

“That’s horrible teaching! Damian, you taught her to fight, yes?”

The younger rolled his eyes. “Don’t be stupid Grayson. We’ve known each other since she was six. That’s all I did with Mother.”

Dick mouthed to him, ‘Does she know?’

Damian shook his head and turned back to his soulmate. “Angel, may I give you a tour of Gotham City?”

“Of course you can, Hayati. Are you coming along Dick?”

“No, I think I’ll let you two have this.”

The two left soon after, only after Dick forced Damian to take a selfie with him and Marinette.

He sent it to Tim, Jason, Stephanie, Cass, and Bruce.

Dickiebird: Dami has a girlfriend! marinette.jpg

AZombie: how did the little brat get a girlfriend?

TheSmartOne: He still calls us by our last names, and we're his brothers. How is she interested? Is she an assassin?

SilentbutDeadly: Bring her to dinner.

BroodingAtAllTimes: I’ll have him invite her to dinner tonight, Cass. Can you give details Dick?

Dickiebird: she’s his soulmate, and she's really sweet. she got him 2 thnk me 4 his tea with a look. here on a school trip

AZombie: brat has a soulmate?

TheSmartOne: Damian has a soulmate? Does Talia know?

Dickiebird: idk, Dami’s giving her a city tour, but he said she doesn’t know about our night activities

BruceWayne: Is this why he bakes so much?

Dickiebird: u knew?

AZombie: he bakes? r they poisoned?

BruceWayne: Of course I knew Dick. I always know what’s going on in my house.

AZombie: hello? is no one else concerned that the baby assassin knows how 2 bake?

MovieSpoiler: be at the manor by dinner. there’s no way im missing this

Dickiebird: it’s actually really good. he did macarons last night.

AZombie: that’s terrifying

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“I think you’ll like the Wayne Botanical Gardens.”

“Me too! Do you go to Gotham Academy?”

He looked amazed. “Yes, is that where your class is going tomorrow?”

She grimaced. “Yeah, it should be interesting. I hope no one falls for Lila’s stories here. Now she’s dating Damian Wayne.”

He had on the same look he wore during spars. It was calculating, and dangerous. “She is? This is going to be an interesting month.”

“Why?”

“I know the youngest very well. Better than I know myself.” That made her think. Damian said his closest friend was someone named Jon. How could he know this Damian so well-

Oh.

“You’re Damian Wayne?!”

“Could you not announce me to the whole street? And yes.”

“That- that actually explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just walk like someone in power. Also, you clearly have money. Look at your clothes!”

He tilted his head and then conceded. “Fair enough.”

His phone buzzed with a new message.

Father: Damian, would you invite Miss Marinette to dinner tonight? Your brothers and I want to meet her.

He groaned. This would not end well.

“What happened?”

“Father wants to invite you to dinner tonight. With my brothers.”

“What’s so bad about that? Dick seemed nice.”

“Trust me, Grayson is by far the best out of the three. I’m just thankful that Brown joined Cassandra in Hong Kong. You two would get along far too well.”

“What’s Brown’s real name? And I’m guessing that Cassandra is your actual favorite?”

“Stephanie Brown. Cassandra is everyone’s favorite.”

“What’s she like?”

“Cassandra is an expert in body language. It’s honestly very impressive. She didn’t know how to talk until she came to the Manor, so she doesn’t speak much. She is very kind and empathetic as well.”

“She sounds great! I wish I could meet her.”

“Maybe later in the month.” His phone rang.

Why was Cassandra calling him?

“Ooh! Is that her?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure why she’d call me. As I said, she doesn’t speak much.”

“Answer it!”

“Alright.”

When he hit the button, instead of Cassandra, he saw Brown.

“Why are you calling me from Cassandra’s phone, Brown?”

“Rude Dami. She’s right here!” She panned the camera to show Cass, and then brought it back. “Plus, you never would’ve answered if it had been from my phone.”

“Correct. So why did you feel the need to bother me through Cassandra?”

“I want to meet her.”

Crap. “Who?”

“Your soulmate! Dick told us about her.”

Before he could answer, Marinette grabbed his phone. “Hi! You must be Stephanie! I’m Marinette. I’m sorry Damian’s being so rude.”

He grumbled.

“Oh my gosh! You’re so cute! How are you not corrupted yet?”

Damian spoke up. “I do not corrupt people Brown.”

“Yes you do! Marinette, what’s he really like? I know he can’t be that bad all the time”

He tried to grab the phone before she could start speaking, but she ducked him. “He’s really sweet! He bakes almost as well as I do, but his sewing could use work.”

“That must be what Dick meant. How come only Dick gets treats, Damian?”

“Because he’s far more tolerable than you.”

“That’s a good question! Marinette who’s his favorite?”

“He loves all of you!”

“No I don’t!”

“Aww Dami! I think I’ll give you a hug tonight!”

“You will not be touching me Brown. What do you mean tonight?”

“Me and Cass are coming back to the Manor tonight for dinner. Also Marinette, what’s Damian’s favorite color?”

“Red.”

“Oh! I almost forgot. This is Cass.” The girl in question waved at the phone.

“It’s nice to meet you Cass!” She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “You know, Damian said that you’re his actual favorite.”

“Of course he did. Cass is everyone’s favorite!”

“We’re here Angel. Can I have my phone back?”

“Oh! It was nice meeting you two! I guess I’ll see you tonight. Bye!” The two girls waved at her, and the call ended.

“Now Brown will never leave me alone. Thanks Angel.”

She giggled. “You love them! They’re your family Birdy.”

"I do not!"

<><><><><><><><><>

Marinette had just made it back to her hotel to grab some new clothes. She changed into a simple sweater and skirt combo.

She picked up her purse and went back down to the lobby to meet Damian.

A sugary sweet voice called out to her. "Marinette, where are you going?"

"Nowhere Lila." She gritted out.

"Oh, but you're dressed so nicely! Mind if I join you on the elevator?"

"Yes."

The Italian continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Me and Alya are going shopping! She's down in the lobby with Adrien and Nino. You could come if you stop being so mean."

Relax. She's just trying to hurt you. "That's nice Lila."

She continued to pry. "Are you going out to dinner? Be careful, Gotham can be dangerous."

The doors finally opened. "Bye Marinette!"

The ravenette walked over to her soulmate with clenched fists and gritted teeth. "Angel? What happened? I saw that girl in the elevator with you."

"It's nothing Damian. Let's just go to dinner."

He started walking, still worried. "Are you hurt?"

She chuckled. "You would know Dami."

When they got in the car, she greeted Alfred, and went quiet.

They rode in silence for a moment before she spoke. "She didn't do anything bad, she just knows how to push my buttons."

"I'm sorry Angel. I would say that dinner might be an improvement, but my siblings will be there." He made a face.

She booped his nose. "I think eating in a dumpster would be better than with Lila. Plus, I like everyone I've met so far."

"You haven't met Todd and Drake."

"I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Famous last words."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an idea. Let me know in the comments if you guys want me to like do side things to show them in the dreamscape or whatever. I think it'd be fun to write, but I don't wanna write something y'all won't read. Plus, I'm only a fluff writer. My stuff is ooc, but for some reason I can't do angst or crack. I've tried. It's bad. Anyway, let me know!!


	8. Author's Note

Guys, I honestly wanna apologize for basically abandoning this story. Unfortunately, I have no clue where I want this story to go, so I'm taking a bit of a hiatus to figure out where I want to take it. Somewhat like FGBW, I will eventually return to it, but I wanna try some other ideas I've been floating around for a while. Sorry!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!

"Master Damian, Miss Marinette, we have arrived."

"Thank you Mr. Pennyworth! It was nice meeting you."

Alfred's lips twitched. Master Damian's soulmate was a ray of sunshine. "You as well, Miss Marinette."

Marinette gave Damian a firm look. He looked confused, and she punched his shoulder. "Birdy!"

"Ow! What?"

She whispered into his ear. "Say thank you!"

"Oh. Thank you Pennyworth."

Alfred's mustache twitched as he struggled not to laugh at the awkward thanks. "You're quite welcome Master Damian. Miss Marinette, I think the rest of the family will like you very much."

"Thank you!"

Damian finally stepped out, and Marinette walked out behind him. "Whoa. Dami, your house is huge!"

He had a small self-satisfied smile. "Yes it is rather large. Come on Angel."

She spun around the foyer as they walked. "Birdy, this is beautiful! Do you think I'd have time to sketch out this room after dinner?"

"I'll try to ensure that you do, but I thought you wanted to meet my pets?"

"I do! You had.. Titus and Jerry?"

"Yes, and a cow, but she isn't on the grounds at the moment."

"I'd love to meet them! You talk about them so much, and I've only seen your drawings of them."

He put a hand to his heart. "Why Angel, are you implying that my drawings are not good enough?"

She elbowed him. "Shut up, you drama queen."

"But Angel-"

"When Dickie told be you had a girlfriend, I didn't believe it! Who would've thought that the little demon could smile?"

"Shut up Todd."

Marinette looked him up and down, then pulled out her signature smile. "Hi! You must be Jason?"

"Yeah, Marinette, right? Nice to meet the one who could tame the demon."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Also, please don't call him that."

He was interrupted by a flash of blonde jumping in front of him. "Hi Marinette! It's nice to meet you in person!"

Marinette tensed at the sudden movement before recognizing the voice. "Wait, Stephanie?"

"Yup! Me and Cass got back just a little bit ago!"

"It's nice to meet you in person too, but don't jump in front of me like that! I was about to knock you out!”

The blonde girl snorted and held up two fingers. “One, you are definitely Damian’s soulmate. Two, I know how to fight too. I probably could have dodged it.”

Damian rolled his eyes.

“Hey Marinette!”

“Oh hi Dick!” He gave her a one-armed hug.

Marinette caught movement in her peripheral. She moved into a defensive stance, but relaxed when she saw her. “Hi Cassandra!”

“Hello.”

The ravenette noticed a young man walking toward the group with a light smile, and deep eyebags. “You must be the infamous Drake?”

Tim raised a brow and looked at Damian. “Infamous?”

“Damian talks about you all the time.”

Jason took the opportunity to tease his little brother. “Aww, Baby Bird, you talk about Timmy?”

“I do not! If I did, it would only be to complain about his overall incompetence!” Tim rolled his eyes.

Marinette glared at him. “'ant taerif 'anak tahibuhum jmyeana! limadha tuhiunahum hakadha? 'ant mahzuz 'an yakun ladayk 'ashqa'an!” (You know you love them all! Why do you insult them like that? You’re lucky to have siblings!)

His lips curled into a teasing smile. “ymknny 'an 'aqdamahum lak…” (I can give them to you…)

His soulmate grumbled. “akhris alhaba.” (Shut up Love.)

His face flushed. “alhaba?” (Love?)

“'iinaha talayimuk. naetadhir alan l Tim.” (You need to apologize to Tim.)

“As interesting as it was to see you blush Damian, I heard my name?”

Marinette turned pink at the sight of all the siblings standing behind Dick as he filmed the short conversation, but held her ground. “Birdy..”

He groaned. “Fine. I’m sorry for insulting you, Drake.” He was about to add a snide comment to the apology, but saw Marinette’s encouraging smile and decided against it.

When he finally looked at his siblings and Stephanie, he saw the whole group with open mouths.

He crossed his arms and scowled.

“Little D, did you just apologize..?”

“Yes he did.”

“I’ve never heard him apologize to anyone, except that one time with Bruce.”

“Ya Amar!” Marinette started berating him in a mix of Arabic, French, and English 

“....and vous devez vous excuser more Damian!” (....and you need to apologize more Damian!)

As soon as she was done, Jason put an arm around her. “You need to come around more, Little Lady. I’ve never seen anyone yell at the little demon like that.”

“Shut up Todd. We have about thirty minutes before dinner, and you wished to meet Titus and Jerry, yes?”

“Yep! I guess I’ll see you all at dinner?”

There was a chorus of agreements, and a refusal from Jason, but Dick pulled him away.

Damian walked her up the stairs to his room. “And here is my room. When the others are here, Grayson sleeps there, Todd uses that room, and Drake uses the one next to it.”

He opened his door, and Titus leapt at him. “Hello Titus.” The black dog started sniffing Marinette. When he finished, he started licking her and wagging his tail. The girl giggled when he knocked her over. 

Damian had to offer him a treat to get him off of his girlfriend. 

“He’s like a little puppy! Aren’t you? You’re a such good boy Titus!” She started scratching him under the chin.

“I think he likes you more than me now.”

“I think that makes sense.”

“Hey!”

She raised her head to look around. “I like your room, but it’s kind of plain, Dami.”

“It is compared to your room.”

“I think it just needs the Marinette touch! Can we fix it up? Please?” She gave him her puppy-eyes.

“Fine.” She pumped her fist as the intercom announced dinner.

“Time for you to meet my father.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

As soon as she spotted Mr. Wayne, she went straight to him. “Hello Mr. Wayne. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“You as well, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“Just Marinette please. The only person that calls me that is my teacher.”

“Alright then Marinette. I'm assuming you'll be sitting near Damian?" She glanced back at him, getting a nod.

Dinner went along with mostly small talk. The family asked questions about her, and she did the same.

When she ate a bite of the creme brulee, Marinette whispered into Damian's ear. "How come Alfred's creme brulee is so good, but yours is so bad?"

"Mine is not bad. It simply needs work."

"Sureeee."

They retired to the sitting room, and made small talk.

Steph cut into the chatter. "So I'm assuming Dami taught you how to fight?"

He looked at her as if she was stupid. "Brown, even you cannot be so ignorant as to believe I would not teach her how to fight. She is my equal."

"To answer that politely, yes, he taught me how to fight. I use daggers fairly well, but lately I've been using more unique weapons."

Damian's head whipped toward her. She had? And he didn't know? "How was I not aware of this? What kind of weapon?"

Dick put an arm on his leg to calm Damian down.

She seemed a bit embarrassed about it, but opened her purse anyway. She pulled out a sleek metal object and handed it to Damian. He examined it, while Dick seemed to be surprised. "Is that a yo-yo?"

"Yes.."

Jason laughed at her. "Sorry Cupcake, but a yo-yo isn't a weapon. Toys are toys."

"I can assure you, it's not a toy." She held her hand out to Damian, and he passed it back to her.

"I'm pretty sure I saw something like that in a toy shop, like, last week. So, yeah, it's a toy."

Damian looked over at her. She seemed relaxed, but he could see the calculating look underneath. In two quick movements, she threw a pillow to the ground, and flicked the yo-yo out, grabbing Jason's leg with it, and yanking him forward so that his head landed perfectly onto the pillow. He scrambled up and detangled his leg. "What the heck?!"

There were various snickers around the room.

"As she said, it's not a toy. If you had cared to pay attention before you spoke, you would have realized that the yo-yo itself is made of titanium, and the cord is a steel cable." Bruce looked very impressed.

"Even so, it's a yo-yo!"

"How did you do that actually?" Tim asked.

"Practice. Sorry Dami, but I don't exactly have one in the dreamscape yet."

"It’s fine."

"It's not as good as my yo-yo as L-as I want it to be, but it's getting there." She barely caught the slip- up.

“Still, it’s pretty intuitive. How did you even think of using a yo-yo?”

“Um, Ladybug uses one, so I thought it might be cool to try out?”

“Ladybug?” Bruce asked.

“Paris’ heroine? You guys didn’t know?”

“We certainly did not. Has there been a rise in crime? Why is a hero even necessary?”

She thought for a moment. “I bet either the Mayor, or Hawkmoth himself is blocking the news.” She shook the thoughts away. “Anyway, Hawkmoth is a supervillain. Here’s a video.” She showed them footage of the Mime’s attack. “He preys on negative emotions. This was the Mime. He was a performer, and his co-star sabotaged his show. He felt down for a few minutes, and well, you can see what happened. Hero’s Day was pretty bad too.” She explained Scarlet Moth and all of the chaos. “But Syren was one of the worst attacks we’ve had. She was a swimmer, and her crush went out to the movies with another girl, and she got akumatized.” Marinette shuddered, and her eyes watered. “There isn’t actually any footage of that battle. Her tears flooded all of Paris. Only about four hundred people survived that, and that was only the people who managed to climb to the higher rooftops in time. Luckily, the cure fixes everything, so it was okay.”

Tim looked about a moment from exploding, and a look around showed that the rest of the family wasn’t doing much better. Out of two million people, only around four hundred survived.

Dick had a question. “Marinette..” He asked slowly. “You were one of the four hundred, right?”

“Yes. My parents weren’t, and some of my classmates weren’t, but I was.” Some of the tension released from Damian, and Stephanie reached over to hug her.

“I’m fine. One of the other really bad attacks was Sandboy. He had the power to make your worst nightmares come to life. No one died, but that was a bad day for everyone. I personally have never died in an attack, but a lot of my close family and friends have. I don’t know why, but a lot of the attacks have come from my school, or the area around it.”

“Angel, none of these akumas,” He spat out the word. “have ever come after you, correct.”

She winced. “Which way?”

“What do you mean, ‘which way?’ Have any of these monsters tried to attack you?”

“...Not in a while?” She tried to backtrack, and flailed her arms. “That sounded wrong! I haven’t had an akumatized villain come after me in a while! My dad’s only goal was to protect me, and Ladybug caught me as I fell, so I didn’t get hurt! And Nathaniel wanted to take me on a date, which meant he didn’t want to hurt me.. at first.” She muttered the last bit under her breath, only Tim hearing her. She listed off more on her fingers. “Gamer was mad that I stole his place in a gaming competition, which was understandable. Chat Noir protected me. Chameleon didn’t actually hurt me, she just wanted to ruin my life." Looking at Damian, she explained. "That one was Lila." He nodded knowingly. "Silencer actually gave me a love confession, which was super sweet. He was actually angry for me, which was why he got akumatized. This producer guy tried to steal my work, but we got his confession on tape, so that was great.” She saw Damian’s face start darkening at the love confession, and get darker at the mention of Bob Roth, so she hurried on. “Startrain wasn’t actually after me, I just got taken along. For the second Scarlet Moth situation, I have no clue what happened there actually. That was one of the times I almost got akumatized. He sent out a ton of butterflies after the almost expulsion, but then he called them back?” She grabbed Damian’s hand, stopping him from grabbing the knife she knew he kept stored in his shoe. “Don’t you dare! I’m done with that now!”

“Over what?” Jason was downright pissed.

“Um, so a bully tried to get me expelled? It’s really not a big deal now, and I got it rescinded, so we’re good now.”

Tim finally spoke up. “Okay Marinette, first of all, that’s actually really horrible, and might still be on your record. So you should check that.” She nodded. “Second, I need details. I can tell you’re not telling me the whole story. You said ‘that was one of the times you almost got akumatized’? How many other times were there?”

Damian looked straight murderous. “I didn’t know about any of this! How did you keep this a secret from me? We share a headspace!”

She sighed and gestured at him. “This is why I didn’t tell you before. You knew about the whole Lila thing, but I knew that if I told you about Hawkmoth, you’d try to stab him. And school is a big enough headache, without me trying to keep you from killing a terrorist.”

He grumbled, but sat down. Tim asked her again. “Ok, but you didn’t actually say it. How many times?”

She looked thoughtful. “It’s only been three, I think. The first time was a while back. The akuma that made Zombiezou, was actually for me. Ms. Bustier took it instead. I was mad at Chloe for stealing my birthday gift for her, and Hawkmoth took advantage of it. The second time was Chameleon. That one was originally for me, too. I fought it off in the bathroom. It's not that hard to fight, and honestly, anyone could do it. You just have to concentrate on happy things, and it goes away. The second Scarlet Moth was the worst. I honestly would have been akumatized if he hadn’t’ve recalled the butterflies.”

TIm had his phone out, and was typing out what she said. “You told us why you were mad the first time, but not the second.”

“So..um, Lila may have threatened me in the bathroom? It wasn’t even a dangerous threat, it just made me upset. She told me she’d take my friends away? And she did, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Me and Nino still hang out, just not as much as we used to. I just don’t really talk to the rest of the class anymore.”

Bruce’s face was a blank mask, along with Tim’s. Stephanie and Cass looked angry, but not nearly as much as Jason or Damian. Dick looked surprised at everything she’d said, but Jason and Damian looked rage-filled.

Dick grabbed Jason’s hand, and dragged him out of the room after noticing how green his eyes were starting to look.

“Any suspects for Hawkmoth?”

“Well, for a while, we thought it might be Gabriel Agreste, but he got akumatized, so he got marked off. It was the best lead we had.” She listed off on her fingers. “He’s super rich, and has an assistant, Nathalie, who would probably be his Mayura, so that’s the means. His wife disappeared last year, which would be the perfect motive, and he’s a recluse, so that would give him the opportunity.”

Stephanie looked thoughtful. “Couldn’t Hawkmoth just akumatize himself?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s a possibility.”

“And what do you mean ‘we’?”

She mentally reviewed her words. “Um, sometimes Ladybug and Chat Noir stop by my balcony. They’ve saved me a few times, and I think we’re pretty friendly now.” There. That wasn't a total lie! Chat used to, sure he didn't anymore, but it's not a total lie!

“So not only have you almost been akumatized multiple times, _been attacked by these akumas_, but you’re also friends with Paris’ heroes?”

“Pretty much.”

“Wow.”

“Now that I’m saying it outloud, it is kind of a lot. Sorry for dumping all of that on you all.”

“Angel, it is not an issue. I will talk to Batman about this.”

“Batman?”

Bruce hurried to cover Damian’s tracks. “We Wayne’s are rather high-profile targets here in Gotham. The heroes have saved us multiple times.”

“Oh, so it’s like my balcony thing.”

“Essentially. But Marinette, how much do you know about these 'miraculouses'?"

She gave a short laugh and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, y'know, probably just a little bit more than the average Parisian. Not too much. Anyway, Dami, I think it's getting late, so I should probably head back."

"Alright Angel."

_"After that, we went on to expose Rossi, and later defeat the elder Agreste. Your Uncle Timothy would probably have better details of the whole thing, with his perfect memory. But yes, me and your mother married shortly after she finished high school, and a few years later, she had you and Amani."_

_The young father kissed his daughter on the head. "I think it's time for you to go to bed, my Jewel. Goodnight."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, ok, I know the ending is kind of crappy, but I just wanted to wrap this up. I knew I wasn't going to end up finishing this if I left it for too long, so I finished it now. Figured it was better than leaving it open for months and months. I had plans to do a whole exposé on Lila, and do a long thing, with maybe a wedding at the end, but I ended up hating those ideas, so I decided to end it here. The little paragraph at the end was a way I've never tried, so I actually like that part. I hope you guys liked this story!!
> 
> P.S. I figured out how to do italics, so I'll be doing that from now on!
> 
> Love y'all!


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